Vital Forces: The Discovery of the Molecular Basis of Life

About this book

Describes the discovery of the molecular basis of life through the stories of the scientists involved, including Pasteur, Mendel, Pauling, and Crick.

Hunter has managed to present a complex, multidimensional ensemble of discoveries in diverse biological specialties extending over two centuries as a coherent, linear, unidimensional story. As far as I know, no comparably intelligent and comprehensive account of the Biochemical Revolution" is available." -Gunther S. Stent, Dept of Molecular and Cell Biology, UC Berkeley, in BIOESSAYS (September 2001) "Well documented with many personal vignettes, this is an engaging and intelligent book. The author is to be commended for capturing the sense of intellectual development as well as the excitement of discovery." -Eugene A. Davidson, Georgetown University School of Medicine, in DOODY'S HEALTH SCIENCES BOOK REVIEW JOURNAL (2001) "This [book] should be required reading for students in this area and can surely be of value to even the most experienced investigator. Well documented with many personal vignettes, this is an engaging and intelligent book." -CHOICE

Contents

List of Plates. Preface. Acknowledgements. The Revolution in Chemistry Has Come to Pass. The Maze of Organic Chemistry. A Singular Inward Laboratory. The Catalytic Force. Building Stones of Protoplasm. The Chemical and Geometrical Phenomena of Heredity. The Megachemisry of the Future. The Giant Molecules of the Living Cell. The Chemical Basis of Genetics. The Heredity Code-script. The Ubiquitous Spiral. Our Thread of Ariadne. Nature is Blind and Reads Braille. References. Selected Readings in the History of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Name Index. Subject Index.

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Biography

Graeme Hunter studied biochemistry at the University of Glasgow, graduating with the degree of Ph.D. in 1980. He carried out post-doctoral research at Stanford University and the University of Toronto. In 1988, Dr. Hunter became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oral Biology at the University of Alberta. Since 1991, he has held the position of Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario.Dr. Hunter's current research interests are in the areas of biomineralizatin and the history and philosophy of biology.